Annihilating Gale
Ceria's body trembled violently.
Her eyes flushed red.
She looked ready to draw her bow at any moment.
I grabbed her shoulder.
"Hold it."
I growled low.
"If you jump in now, you're dead meat."
It was a cold, hard calculation.
The plaza teemed with soldiers.
Over a thousand at a glance.
Their armor and weapons put the Frost Tribe's leather rags to shame—forged from ice crystals, solid and gleaming.
And atop the walls, archers stood at the ready.
This was the enemy's heartland.
Any commotion, and we'd be turned into pincushions.
Ceria bit her lip until blood seeped out.
But she bowed her head.
If not for my grip, she would've charged.
That was when it happened.
Thud. Thud.
The soldiers' ranks parted.
A knight in silver plate approached.
High-ranking officer, by the look of him.
He blocked our path, eyes brimming with suspicion.
"Halt."
The knight leveled his spear.
But his guard stayed up.
"This is the northern front line. Lord Cryos, God of Frost, strictly controls entry for outsiders."
His gaze flicked to the staff in my hand.
"You claim to be a herald of Lord Heimdall?"
"That's right."
I tilted my chin up.
As arrogantly as possible.
"I have questions. Why would the mighty God of Storms send a herald to this forsaken outpost?"
The knight narrowed his eyes.
"Without any prior notice, no less."
Fair suspicion.
But if he pressed here, it was over.
I scowled.
"Insolent."
I laced my voice with mana.
"A mere mortal dares question His intentions?"
"That's not—"
I slammed the staff into the ground.
Bwoooom!
Shredding Death Typhoon
The gem at the staff's tip spewed blue light.
Wind howled.
A razor-sharp gust sliced the air, grazing the knight's helmet.
Clang!
The plume sheared clean off.
The knight's face drained white.
He stumbled back.
This was real.
No mortal could fake that divine might.
As the knight began to bow, sweat beading on his brow—
"S-sor—"
Thud!
A dull explosion cut him short.
His head vanished.
Or rather, burst.
Blood and brains sprayed everywhere.
Splat. Drip.
Hot droplets flecked my cheek.
"…!"
Ceria flinched back in shock.
The soldiers screamed and scattered.
The headless corpse crumpled.
Thump.
Stuck in the spot: a pitch-black spear.
A javelin.
Thrown from somewhere—it had pulverized the knight's skull.
I turned my gaze.
The direction it came from.
The wall's top.
A massive shadow loomed.
Backlit, its form swallowed in darkness.
It leaped down.
Boom!
The ground quaked like an earthquake.
From the dust cloud, it emerged.
A giant—at least three meters tall.
Human body, lion's head: a beastman.
Golden mane whipping in the wind.
Veins like writhing worms over swollen muscles.
"…Pathetic worms."
The lion beastman growled.
His voice scraped like gravel.
He strode to the corpse.
Yanked the embedded spear with one hand.
Shlrp.
He shook the blood off and spoke.
"Lord Cryos commanded: not a single ant gets in."
Yellow eyes flashed.
"And in the blink of an eye, you let peddlers slip through."
His gaze locked on us.
Precisely: on Ceria.
"One's even an elf."
He sniffed.
"Stinks foul. Runaway rat?"
Ceria paled.
Killing intent.
Overwhelming, crushing her.
I swallowed hard.
'Why the hell is that thing here?'
An unforeseen variable.
I knew him.
The gatekeeper at the 50th floor's entrance.
If Ceria was the mid-boss, this guy guarded the floor proper.
'Lion King Kusan.'
Why was he here?
He should be in the Tower.
Why was Kusan out in Asgard's mainland?
Kusan aimed his spear at us.
"I am Kusan, gatekeeper sworn to Lord Cryos."
He bared fangs in a feral grin.
…Busted.
He looked like a dumb brute, but his senses were sharp.
Especially since—
"You reek. Liars' stench."
Kusan was a zealot.
Obeyed Cryos alone.
Even if Heimdall himself showed, he'd hurl that spear on his master's word.
No talking sense with him.
Kusan's thigh muscles bulged.
"Ceria!"
She snapped to.
Drew her bowstring by instinct.
Twaang!
The arrow tore through air, aimed dead at his brow.
But.
Kusan didn't dodge.
It ricocheted off his thick mane, clattering harmlessly.
"Itches."
He sneered.
Ceria was still growing.
Far from the terror she was in those 50th-floor nightmares.
"Seize them!"
"Intruders!"
Soldiers swarmed like ants on Kusan's cue.
Enemies everywhere.
This way, we'd be surrounded and whittled down.
I gritted my teeth, slammed my left hand to the ground.
Rumble!
Land Boiling with Hellfire
Roooar!
Crimson-black flames erupted from my feet.
Ice melted, earth boiled.
"Gaaah!"
"Hot!"
Charging soldiers rolled, engulfed.
A firewall formed.
It blocked approach.
But Kusan was different.
"Hoh, got some bite."
He casually sidestepped the lava.
Endured the rising heat with his iron body.
Outmatched.
I swung the staff.
'Shredding Death Typhoon.'
Whiiir!
Blade-winds slashed at Kusan.
Crunch!
Lacerations opened on him.
Blood sprayed.
But that was it.
"With mere wind?!"
He roared, swinging his spear.
Bam!
The gale shattered.
'Mad bastard.'
Definitely different.
Worlds apart from the Earth avatars.
They had system shields as players; this was raw wilderness.
Overwhelming physicality.
Battle-honed instincts over centuries.
The real deal.
Clang! Shing!
Avriel flew as a holy sword, covering Ceria.
But.
"Ngh!"
Ceria cried out.
Kusan's fist grazed her side.
She flew like a leaf, smashing into the wall.
"Ceria!"
"Eyes elsewhere?!"
Kusan barreled to my face.
Spear tip for my throat.
I barely parried with the staff.
Claaang!
My wrist nearly snapped.
He's pushing me back.
Maintaining hellfire left and typhoon right was taxing enough.
'No way out?'
I racked my brain.
One authority left.
'Extreme Blizzard' from devouring Kalligo.
Useless here.
This was the North.
Cryos's turf.
Cold magic was like spraying water on fish.
It'd just buff them.
Retreat?
'Impossible.'
He's faster.
Turn tail, and that spear skewers me.
Should've prepped more.
Regret surged, but water under the bridge.
Couldn't bring Tower shop monsters outside.
This was my best hand now.
"That all you got, fraud?!"
Kusan pressed.
Spears rained like arrows.
Parrying was all I could do.
Limit reached.
Panting, I eyed my right palm.
The golden rune etched there.
Power to devour authorities.
'Maybe…'
I looked at the staff.
Grasped it, focusing.
Bzzz.
'…!'
The golden rune reacted.
Golden threads shot from my palm.
Straight to Heimdall's divine artifact.
'…No way?'
Could I devour it?
Even the authority within a divine tool?
But it'd just be 'Shredding Death Typhoon' again.
No different from using the staff.
Lose the amplification, even.
Then—a flash of insight.
Staff was 'item use'.
Devoured, it becomes my authority.
My own?
'I can combine it.'
The hidden reward in my inventory.
Authority Combiner!
No time to hesitate.
Kusan's spear incoming.
I gripped the staff tight.
'Devour.'
Rooooar!
Devoured the power of the divine artifact, 'Staff of the Typhoon'.
Acquired Authority: Shredding Death Typhoon.
Done.
I opened the system window instantly.
Authority Combiner activate.
The list appeared.
Checking combinable Authorities.
1. Shredding Death Typhoon (Mythic)
2. Extreme Blizzard (Legendary)
Two authorities resonated.
Wind and frost.
Perfect synergy.
I hit the button without pause.
Decomposing Authority: Shredding Death Typhoon.
Fusing Authority: Extreme Blizzard.
Analyzing synergy between the two disasters.
Synergy exploding!
Progress: 15%
The cauldron bubbled.
But it needed time.
The gauge filled slowly.
Kusan burst through the flames.
Not even hellfire fully scorched his thick hide and mana shield.
"Ceria!"
I yelled.
"Buy time!"
"…!"
She bit her lip, eyes wide with terror.
But she held firm.
Drew her bow.
Twang! Twang!
Arrows flew in barrage.
"Annoying gnat!"
Kusan swept his spear.
Arrows shattered midair.
Overwhelming power gap.
Thud!
"Guh!"
The shaft slammed her gut.
She tumbled, vomiting blood—but rose again.
Determination to cling, even if it killed her.
Progress: 85%
A bit more.
Kusan seized Ceria's throat, hoisting her up.
"Weaklings bore me."
As he squeezed—
Combination complete!
A new Authority is born!
Authority rank reset.
Reached Ancient grade.
Mythic transcended.
Bzzz.
The hellfire died in an instant.
As the crimson veil lifted, Kusan grinned at me.
"Giving up? Fireplay over?"
He tossed Ceria like trash.
Slowly approached.
Victor's leisure.
I extended my hand toward him again.
He's off-guard.
Prime chance to kill.
I invoked the finished authority.
"Annihilating Gale."
Roooooooar!